This invention relates to prosthetic devices and particularly relates to adapters for artificial limbs, specifically the hand, to permit releasable attachment and manipulation of the article by an amputee.
Customarily, an amputee who has lost one or both hands is fitted with an artificial arm component together with an artificial hand, the latter conventionally comprised of an upper pair of metallic hooks and a lower spaced artificial hook interconnected in such a way to permit the person to carry out various activities. However, due to the limited degree of movement and control afforded over hook portions, the artificial hand is limited in the performance of certain activities. This is particularly so with respect to manipulation or control of elongated articles, such as, for instance, ski poles, rifles or the gear shift or steering wheel on a car.
In order to enable the amputee to carry out certain special activities, such as, athletics, the approach generally taken in the past has been to modify the construction of the artificial hand or limb itself according to the specific application. Generally representative of approaches taken in the past in U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,674 to Pauls which discloses a special skiing device for a handicapped person in the form of an arm crutch equipped with a lower ski portion convertible for use in walking. Similarly, the patent to Katz U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,187, makes provision for a specially formed artificial hand adapted for violin playing. Other adapter arrangements for artificial hands to operate and manipulate various devices are known, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,561,523 to Lux discloses a tool attachment capable of producing a wrist-like action for use in activities such as sweeping, raking or similar chores involving implements employing a handle portion. The patent to La Croix, U.S. Pat. No. 2,566,215, also discloses a wrist adapter for tennis rackets which is secured to an artificial limb in such a way as to facilitate sturdy but flexible movement of the adapter. Other patents of interest for disclosing prosthetic devices are Larsen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,036,312 and De Filipo U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,128. To the best of my knowledge however no one has devised a prosthetic device in the form of an adapter which is conformable for use in various activities without modification of the artificial limb or hand itself and in such a way as to permit detachable engagement by the prosthesis to control linear and rotary movement of an article.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for a novel and improved adapter for artificial hands which permits releasable engagement and control of the article without modification of the artificial hand itself.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved prosthetic device which is particularly useful for engagement with and control of the grip end of handle of articles such as a ski pole, rifle, gear shift or steering wheel on a car.